He plays Dr. John Watson in Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes on BBC, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch.
And, off-duty Martin Freeman, 49, played detective at a Sherlock themed escape room in London on Sunday, but failed to find his way out despite being given an extra 40 minutes by star-struck staff who shared CCTV footage to TikTok.
The actor shocked employees at Sherlock: The Official Live Game, 221B in Shepherd’s Bush when he turned up with his his new girlfriend Rachel Mariam, 28 and his daughter Grace, 13.
No way! Off-duty Martin Freeman, 49, played detective at a Sherlock themed escape room in London on Sunday, but failed to find his way out
Staff told The Sun that Martin’s team name was ‘The Army Doctors’ and that the actor joked: ‘Yeah nothing’s changed there Ben’ at a safety video starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
One employee, Chris Gannon, 27, told the publication of Martin’s attempt at the escape room: ‘You have an hour to complete it, but we gave him 40 mins extra time. He still lost though!! It is very tricky.’
After trying out the experience, the actor had a drink in the bar, with Chris claiming: ‘It was here he told us how much he loved the experience, things about the show and that he’s going to tell Ben to come see us.’
Martin took the time to pose for a photograph with staff, who gushed: ”He couldn’t have been more kind.’
Unexpected! Staff at Sherlock: The Official Live Game, 221B in Shepherd’s Bush were stunned when the actor turned up
Family fun: The actor shocked employees when he turned up with his his new girlfriend Rachel Mariam, 28 and his daughter Grace, 13
Martin’s girlfriend Rachel was born in Toulouse, France, and has been appeared on shows such as BBC’s critically-acclaimed hit Normal People and YouTube series Call It a Day.
The rising star also boasts a promising writing career, having competed against Shia LaBeouf’s Honey Boy as a semi-finalist for her feature script Juliet Is Fine in the 2020 Save The Cat Screenplay Challenge.
A source previously revealed the actor introduced his new girlfriend to his friends before lockdown.
The insider told The Sun: ‘It’s still early days but they are getting on really well. They both love the same films and Martin supports her acting and writing career.
‘They have spent quite a bit of time together at his home in North London because of Covid, but Rachel was able to meet some of his friends before lockdown.’
Watson! Martin plays Dr. John Watson in Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes on BBC, alongside Benedict Cumberbatch (Pictured in 2014 for Sherlock)
Oh no! ‘You have an hour to complete it, but we gave him 40 mins extra time. He still lost though!! It is very tricky’ said staff
Sherlock star Martin split from his on-screen wife Amanda Abbington, 47, in late 2016 following a 16-year romance.
The former couple share two children, daughter Grace and son Joe, 15. The Mr Selfridge actress previously admitted she kept their break-up a secret for six months.
Mother-of-two Amanda told The Sunday Times magazine: ‘When we broke up nobody knew, we didn’t tell anybody except for a few key people because they had to know, because of the logistics of hotels and stuff.’
‘We still get on really well, we still really both admire each other as actors… he’s a great guy, but we just couldn’t live with each other any more.’
Legend! Employees revealed: ‘He told us how much he loved the experience, things about the show and that he’s going to tell Ben to come see us’